Book



Dec. 18, 1934. H. N. FELEY 1,984,790

BOOK

Filed Jan. 28, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Henry N. Fe/ey HIS. ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 18, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOOK Henry N. Feley, East Orange, N. J.

Application January 26, 1933, Serial No. 653,591

The invention relates to books and more particularly to permanently bound check-books.

' The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved fiat-opening check-book constructed in an advantageous manner so that the bookwill lie open at any point. It is a serious inconvenience of ordinary check-books that they must be held open in order to keep the stubs from springing over onto the page to be written upon. In a check-book constructed in accordance with the present invention the stubs will be perfectly fiat in any part of the book regardless of whether a few pages of checks have been removed or practically all the pages of checks have been used.

The improved construction permits of considerable additional writing space on the stubs of the check-book. This results in a substantial saving in material as the user may have the same sized checks and the saving will be effected on the over-all dimensions of the book.

In addition to the foregoing, other objects and advantages will become apparent as this specification proceeds. Referring to the drawings forming a part thereof:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the check-book in its open position;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on a larger scale, taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, the ends of the covers and checks and stubs being broken away for economy of space;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary end view, the bookbeing in the closed position;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional plan view, taken on the line 4- -4 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 are detailed sectional views showing a method of assembling the check-book; and

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view illustrating the means for retaining the sheets and stubs.

The book comprises front and rear covers 10 and 11 and a connecting back portion 12. Hinge portions 1313 are provided between the connecting back portion 12 and the covers 10 and 11. A collection of sheets 14 is confined between the front and rear covers and the principal novelty of the invention resides in the means for permanently binding these sheets in position.

As illustrated each'of the sheets comprises a plurality of checks 15 and stub portions 16. In Fig. 1 the checks have been removed. from the stubs at the left hand side of the book and it will be noted particularly in this figure and in Fig. 2 that the sheets of checks and the stub portions lie perfectly flat.

7 Claims. (01. 281-25) With check-books bound in the customary manner great inconvenience is caused by the stubs on the left hand side springing over onto the stub portion on the right hand side on which a person is writing. In my previous patent No. 1,606,213 dated November 9, 1926, I helped to overcome the serious inconvenience by binding the collection of sheets loosely and creasing or weakening the sheets at the binding portions. However, this creasing operation is expensive and the results, while extremely beneficial, were not entirely satisfactory. In accordance with the present invention the expensive creasing operation is eliminated and an ideal flat-opening condition provided. The fiat-opening feature is not only advantageous to a person entering data on the check-book stubs but it greatly facilitates posting from the stubs to a cash book or other records.

A'binder plate 17 is secured to the connecting portion 12 by rivets 18. The binder plate 1'! is preferably channel-shaped in cross section and is provided with a pluralityof longitudinally extending apertures 19, along one edge thereof. Adjacent the opposite edge of the binder plate are small openings or slots 20, there being two of these for each one of the longitudinally extending apertures 19. Each of the apertures 19 is interruptedly a pair of tongues 21.

Spring sheet-holders 22 are positioned in the apertures 18 and openings 19. A plurality of the spring sheet-holders are provided so that there will be a multiplicity of points of contract along the edges of the boundcollection of sheets, thus insuring against the pulling out of the sheets or stubs during ordinary usage of the check-book.

Each of the spring sheet-holders comprises a pair of 'rings 23 formed of spring material and connected at one side by a longitudinally extending portion 24. Thus, each ring 23 has a longitudinally extending portion. The free ends of the ring-portions cooperate with the openings 20 and are so shaped, as indicated at 25, that once they are positioned it will be impossible to remove them except by turning the entire spring sheet-holder as shown in Fig. 6 andv this will be prevented by means hereinafter described.

The ring-connecting portion 24 of the spring sheet-holders is confined under the tongues or ears 21 and it will be apparent it cannot be removed without distorting the tongues 21. To further insure against the removal of the spring sheet-holders the connecting portions 24 are .provided with bends 26 extending in a horizontal plane. If one endeavored to force the rings together so as to slide the connecting por-,

tions out between the ends of the tongues and the edges of the apertures 19 with a minimum amount of distortion the bent portions 26 will project under the top of the binder plate and thus absolutely prevent the removal of the spring sheet-holders.

The sheets are provided with holes 27 along their binding edges through which the ring-portions 23 pass. Narrow strips 28 of a substantially rigid material are provided on the top and bottom of the collection of sheets. These strips act as protect the upper and lower sheets during repeated turning of the sheets or stubs.

Prior to assembling the sheets the tongues 21 are bent upwardly as shown in Fig. 5. The sheets are collated and assembled and the free ends of the rings of the spring sheet-holders are passed through the openings in the sheets. The ends 25 of the ring portions are then placed in the openings of the binder plate 17 as illustrated in Fig. 6. A suitable tool may then be utilized to force the connecting portions 24 into their apertures 19 and push the tongues 21 to their horizontal position as shown in Fig. 7.

It will be obvious that additional writing space is provided on the stubs because that part of the stub which would be bound is now available for writing.

Applicant is aware that in loose-leaf binders numerous arrangements approaching his plan have been devised but he wishes to again take this opportunity to point out that his invention relates to a permanently bound book and particularly a checkbook.

However, it would not be precluded to removably mount his binder plate or to mount the binder plate on a member which may be removably held to the covers.

Changes in details of construction and arrangements of parts such as would occur to one skilled in the art are to be considered as coming within the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A permanently bound book having in combination, front and rear covers, a connecting portion, a collection of sheets having a plurality of apertures along their binding edges, an inverted channel-shaped binder plate secured to said connecting portion, a plurality of longitudinally extending apertures along the top surface of one edge of said binder plate, a plurality of openings adjacent the opposite edge of the top surface of said binder plate and spring sheet-holders having a pair of ring-portions passing through said apertures in the sheets and a portion connecting said rings together, the connecting portions passing through said longitudinally extending apertures in said binder plate and engaging the plate and the free ends of said ring-portions passing through said openings in said binder plate and engaging the plate, and means retaining said connecting portions within said longitudinally extending aper tures.

2. A permanently bound book having in combination, front and rear covers, a connecting portion, a collection of sheets having a plurality of apertures along their binding edges, a binder plate secured to said connecting portion, a plurality of longitudinally extending apertures along one edge of said binder plate, tongues extending substantially across said apertures, a plurality of openings adjacent the opposite edge of said binder plate, and spring sheet-holders having a pair of ring-portions passing through said apertures in the sheets and a portion connecting said rings together, the connecting portion being ongaged by said tongues and the free ends of said ring-portions passing through said openings in the binder plate and having an interlocking engagement with the binder plate.

3. A permanently bound book having in combination, front and rear covers, a connecting portion, a collection of sheets having a plurality of apertures along their binding edges, a binder plate secured to said connecting portion, a plurality of longitudinally extending apertures along one edge of said binder plate, tongues extending substantially across said apertures, a plurality of openings adjacent the opposite edge of said binder plate, and, spring sheet-holders having a pair of ring-portions passing through said apertures in the sheets and a portion connecting said rings together, the connecting portion being engaged by said tongues and having a part therein capable of engaging the under side of the binder plate if the ring-portions should be pressed together, and the free ends of said ring-portions passing through said openings in said binder plate and having an interlocking engagement with said binder plate.

4. A permanently bound book having in combination, front and rear covers, a' connecting portion, a collection of sheets having a plurality of apertures along their binding edges, a binder plate secured to said connecting portion, arid a series of spring sheet-holders having ring-portions passing through said apertures in the sheets, one extremity of each spring sheetholder passing through an opening adjacent one edge of said binder plate and engaging said binder plate, the other extremity of said spring sheet-holder passing through an opening adjacent the opposite edge of said binder plate and engaging a tongue extending substantially across said opening adjacent the opposite edge of said binder plate.

5. A. permanently bound flat-opening book having in combination, front and rear covers, a connecting portion, a collection of sheets having a plurality of apertures along their binding edges,

a binder plate secured to said connecting portion, a plurality of longitudinally extending apertures along one edge of said binder plate, a plurality of openings adjacent the opposite edge of said binder plate, and spring sheet holders having ring-portions passing through said apertures in the sheets and each having a longitudinally extending portion at one of its extremities, the

longitudinally extending portion passing through one of said longitudinally extending apertures in said binder plate and engaging the plate, and the opposite free end of each of said ring portions passing through one of said openings in said binder plate and engaging the plate, and means retaining said longitudinally extending portion within said longitudinally extending apertures.

6. A binder for permanently binding sheets having in combination, an inverted channelshaped binder plate adapted to be secured in a binder, a plurality of longitudinally extending apertures along one edge of the top surface of said binder plate, a plurality of openings adjacent the opposite edge of the top surface of said binder plate, and spring sheet-holders having ring-portions adapted to pass through apertures in the sheets and having a longitudinally exte ing portion at one of their extremities, the longitudinally extending portion passing through one of said longitudinally extending apertures in said binder plate and engaging the plate and the opposite free end of said. ring-portions passing through one of said openings in said binder plate and engaging the plate, and means retaining said longitudinally extending portions within said longitudinally extending apertures.

across said apertures,

7. A binder plate for a permanently bound flatopening book, said binder plate being chamelshaped in cross section, a'plurality of openings adjacent one edge of said binder plate and a plurality oi longitudinally extending apertures ad= terrupted by tongues extending substantially HENRY N. FELEY. 10 

